1950s

On 6 November 1956, during the Suez Crisis, a Royal Air Force Canberra PR.7 was sent to overfly Syria on a photo reconnaissance mission, and was shot down by a Syrian Air Force Gloster Meteor. As of 2022, this was the last RAF aircraft shot down in an enemy air-to-air engagement.^[4][5]

21st century

In 2001, positive relations were developed between Prime Minister Tony Blair and the Syrian government, as part of the War on Terror.^[6]

In 2002, President Bashar al-Assad made an official visit to the United Kingdom, the first Syrian leader to do so.^[7] He and his wife Asma met with Queen Elizabeth II.^[8]

In 2003, the British Syrian Society was established in London by Fawaz Akhras, father-in-law of Bashar al-Assad.^[9]

Since the 2011 civil war, relations have deteriorated, and the UK was one of the first countries to recognise the opposition as the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people.^[1]

The Embassy of Syria in London closed in 2013.

In 2018, the UK took part in the missile strikes against Syria alongside the United States and France.^[10]

In March 2021, the British Government placed sanctions on key allies of Assad.^[11]